Zigview S2 – LCD Previews For DSLRs

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Argraph Zigview S2 (Image courtesy Popular Science)By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve gone through a few digital cameras over the years but when the Nikon D70 was released I became a complete convert to DSLRs. However like a lot of people it took a few weeks to get used to the fact that an SLR always requires you to look through the eyepiece with no real-time previews available on the LCD. Having used the camera for a few years now I don’t miss that functionality but I know some people are reluctant to switch to a DSLR for just that reason.

A clever, albeit expensive solution to the problem is the Zigview S2 accessory from Argraph. From what I can tell it attaches directly to the camera’s eyepiece and uses a small sensor to capture the image in the viewfinder and displays it on a detachable 2.5″ LCD screen that can be flipped 180 degrees and rotated 360 degrees. Besides giving you a real-time preview on the LCD the Zigview can also connect to a video monitor allowing a group of people to crowd around and see what a shot looks like before it’s taken. It even includes a cable shutter release that it can trigger with its own built-in intervalometer (from a 0.5 second interval up to 99 days) or when its motion detector senses a variation in the image in the viewfinder. Very cool.

The Zigview S2 is available for about $450-$500.

[ Zigview S2 ] VIA [ Popular Science ]

2 COMMENTS

  1. I could not imagine holding my D80 in front of me and trying to take a picture with a screen! lol one of the benefits of a nice dslr is having a decent viewfinder since most PS cameras have left them out, I hate taking pictures on bright sunny days with a screen, its terrible.
    Looking at this product is drawing frightening images into my head of middle aged tourists holding $1500 DSLR’s at arms length taking pictures while looking at LCD screens, sigh, sigh, sigh

  2. To AJ – many photographers DO prefer the better viewfinders offered by the new DLSR cameras. However, there are many unique situations where it isn’t possible to even use the viewfinder, such as mounted cameras on cars, airplanes, etc. and other arrangements that leave a DSLR user to just guess on what they are shooting.

    You can visit http://www.climaxdigital.com/zigview/zigview_s2.html and read user reviews, view video clips, see camera compatability charts for this unit and more. There is a customer service number for anyone curious about this Zigview unit.

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